


At Least Pretend to Look Like You Enjoy My Company

by T (TN_Night), TN_Night



Series: #EreriWeek2016 [8]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Child Mikasa Ackerman, Cute, Drabble, EreRi Week 2016, Established Relationship, M/M, Married Levi/Eren Yeager, Parents Levi & Eren Yeager, Smile
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 14:05:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6858037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TN_Night/pseuds/T, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TN_Night/pseuds/TN_Night
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi's super pissed because he cannot, for the life of him, make his daughter smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Written for Ereri Week 2016. Prompt: Smile. </p>
<p>(Story beta'd by aelmer6 from ff.net. Thank you!!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	At Least Pretend to Look Like You Enjoy My Company

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! The last day of Ereri Week 2016!

 

“Peekaboo!” Levi said as energetically and happily as he could, smiling and uncovering his face to stare at his and Eren’s one-year-old, Mikasa.

 

She stared at him blankly, looking a bit confused and just in general not giving a shit about what he was doing.

 

Levi whined, a high and unnatural sound in his throat, “Ereeeen she still isn’t smiling.” He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest petulantly and jutting out his lower lip.

 

His husband chuckled, picking their daughter up in one swift sweep and rocking her in his arms happily, singing some children’s song whose lyrics’ meaning was probably too horrific for an infant’s ears, but it’s not like she’d understand them until she was thirteen and had a Tumblr account and therefor knew everything.

 

In-between bouts of humming and singing Eren would coo at her and she would, as always, giggle and smile a toothless smile, making jealously boil hot in the pit of Levi’s stomach. He stood with a huff and, as lightly as a person could, stomped into the kitchen, putting the kettle on the stove before sitting down on the counter angrily. 

 

Eren walked in with a soft expression on his face, still carrying their daughter in one arm, his other holding a stuffed animal that Levi _really_ wanted to rip the head off of at that moment. 

 

He was starting to believe all the people who’d told him he was scary.

 

“Hey,” Eren began, “it’s alright, you know. She does love you; you just have a bad case of resting bitch face or something. She’s probably just trying to copy you. Kids do that a lot.” He tried reassuring his husband, who shook off the hand that came to rest on his shoulder with a pissed off grunt.

 

“Bullshit she is. I smile at her all the time, I’ve been trying this for months, Eren. I’m starting to think she just doesn’t like me.” He said, dropping his voice for the last part in hopes to avoid a lecture about how she loved him very much.

 

But Eren didn’t take him on a trip to preachville. He, instead, took the kettle off the stove, which he hadn’t realized had been asking for attention for some time, and sat on the counter next to him, handing Mikasa over so he didn’t drop her while he hopped up, though he didn’t ask for her back when he was settled.  

 

“Listen, Lee. I don’t know exactly why she doesn’t smile at you. I’ll be honest with you there. But I do know that you’re there for her everyday– when she’s sad, bored, angry, anything, you’re there. You’re one of the most prominent people in her life and you’ve done nothing to make her anything but happy, even if she doesn’t…emote. Is that a word? ‘Emote’?” He cut himself off.

 

“Yes, it’s a word.” Levi sighed, bringing ‘Kasa higher up on his knee and unintentionally bouncing her. RLS was a bitch. “I know you mean well, Eren, but this isn’t helping. It’s just making me believe there’s gotta be something wrong with me or the way I do things. If I’m always there for her, then why doesn’t she seem to believe it?”

 

Eren chuckled, “Maybe she’s got one of those brain things where she can’t recognize faces.” He joked, but his laughter cut off and he nearly screamed, “OH MY GOD WHAT IF SHE HAS THAT THING WHERE SHE CAN’T–“

 

Levi covered his husband’s mouth with his hand, effectively cutting off the shouting. “No, she wouldn’t know you, or anyone else. She laughs for Hanji, Petra– hell, even Erwin’s gotten her to laugh a few times.” He sighed, and Eren’s shoulders relaxed, the fear subsiding. “Maybe I’m not cut out for this whole “dad” thing.” 

 

“Levi, you know you are, look at you. Only real dads wonder if they’re meant to be a dad.” He said, pleased with how that sentence sounded profound. But Levi didn’t look impressed and his leg was only shaking harder and at this point, effectively turning their daughter into a human jackhammer. Eren squeaked, grabbing her off of his lap and laying her down on the table. She wasn’t crying, but she looked dizzy.

 

“Oh, fuck, I’m so sorry!” He whisper-shouted, leaning down and holding her head in his hands, stroking the side of her cheek with the back of his palm until she came back to reality. Levi let out a breath of relief. Relief that she was okay, but also relief that she didn’t cry; he didn’t think he could take the headache right now. He smiled at her, holding the happiness for a second before he turned around to grab a mug and make some tea with the water that he was probably going to have to re-boil. 

 

“Don’t let me to that to her again, okay? I don’t want her dying from a concussion because I end up bouncing her into space or something, okay?”

 

Eren laughed, “Maybe she’ll like space. Maybe it’ll even get her to smile for ya.” He said, grabbing his own cup and avoiding his lover’s scowl. 

 

“Too soon, you prick.”

 

“What did I tell you about swearing around the baby?” Eren said, feigning anger, but Levi could hear the teasing lilt in his voice.

 

Levi groaned, “That I should only do it if it would benefit her in society.” 

 

“That’s right.” He nodded, turning back to the counter and putting his tea beside the empty space where his daughter once was.

 

He paused.

 

“Uhhhh…” Eren said, his brain shutting down for a second. He quickly checked around all of the counters, and even though there was no logical way she could’ve gotten down by herself, she was nowhere to be found.

 

Well, at least she didn’t break her neck. But now they’d have to worry about her being a ninja.

 

“Levi?” Eren said, panicked.

 

“Mhm?” Levi, still making tea, didn’t turn to respond.

 

“Where’s Mikasa?”

 

Now Levi did spin around, hastily putting his tea down on the countertop and not saying another word to his husband, instead rushing to the living room to try and locate their missing ninja child.

 

He nearly tripped over a stray ball on the floor but he managed to regain his balance and run into the dining room, instantly relieved to find his daughter sitting on the table with her legs in a straddle, playing with the flower centrepiece. 

 

Levi smiled. Unforced, relaxed, not trying to please, he just gently let his lips upturn as Eren came running into the room behind him, his phone by his side and set to 911 just in case he saw an emergency when instead he saw one of the sweetest things he ever had encountered. His husband and best friend standing with his arms folded comfortably as he watched their child play with the soft petals of a white rose. He shook his head, bringing up his phone and snapping a picture of the first time Mikasa had smiled at him.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm kinda glad this week is over but at the same time I'm not. It got me kickstarted on writing again. Maybe I'll finally finish that multi-chap I keep going on about. Anyway, thank you for reading! Normal comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated ^^


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